The Tale of Thumbeluna
by Jadyne Farrow
Summary: A Fairy Potter Tale: Follow the tale of Thumbeluna as she faces toads, beetles, mice, moles, and much more!
1. Chapter 1

Once upon a time, there lived a couple by the surname Lovegood.

Xenophilius and Pandora had everything they could ever want. A lovely house secluded from the cities. A quiet place to talk of many things. Animals that came round their house. They even had neighbors just down the hill; Pandora and Molly were fairly good friends. Molly found Pandora a bit odd, but still a lovely friend. Pandora, in spite of Molly's hair color (it reminded her of heliopaths), enjoyed her caring side and her children as well.

Except...that was the one thing they lacked. Molly had several beautiful children, all but one of them boys. But Xenophilius and Pandora had no children whatsoever. The Burrow was the only place where they could hear the fairylike pitter-patter of footsteps, the lyrical laughter of the wizard children, look into their innocent doe, or in Fred and George's case mischievous elf, eyes, even feel their warm, loving hugs. The Lovegoods were sort of an aunt and uncle to the children.

But they wanted one of their own. They wanted the same light and love in their own house. But Pandora could not birth a child. Nonetheless, they continued to find ways to have a child, but only kept meeting failure after failure.

Until one day.

Xenophilius was studying a new breed of magical beetles when Pandora came rushing in from the marketplace. Her face was all aglow with glee.

"What's this excitement of, my love?" Xenophilius asked as he kissed her forehead.

"Oh, I met a fellow witch at the market. She specializes in rare magical plants, including the Heart's Desire Rose. Well, she happened to have a few extra seeds and, when I told her about us wanting a sweet, little child of our own, she gave them to me. Oh, Xenophilius! We could finally have a child."

At this point, Pandora was skipping and spinning round the house and crying tears of joy.

"Well then, what are we waiting for, my love?" Xenophilius asked excitedly.  
"Let us plant it!"

The two found a painted flower pot and some soil. Carefully, Xenophilus poured some soil in and Pandora dug a small hole. They carefully planted the seeds and watered them.

"Now what comes next?" Xenophilius asked.

"We close our eyes and wish to the seeds."

So they did, intensely. After about half an hour of this, they opened their eyes.

"And now?" Xenophilius asked.

"Now," said Pandora.  
"We wait."

And so they did.

Days turned to weeks and soon they turned to months, but the plant was not growing. Not even a slight bud was emerging. Now any old couple would've given up at this point. But the Lovegoods were persistent. They kept faith in that, one day, the plant would give them a child. They kept on wishing and watering all through February.

"Perhaps the child shall be a Valentine's day gift," Xenophilius suggested two days before Valentine's Day.

"I hope so," Pandora said, as her eyes sparkled, even after all of the waiting.

"I want to show Molly and her children."

Then Pandora gave a yawn.

"But for now, we must retire to our room, my dear."

"Indeed."

Pandora took the plant off of the kitchen table and placed it by the window. The moonlight shone through the crystal glass windows. Then the two went upstairs, hopeful that it might finally happen.

At about 3 in the morning, Pandora was awoken by a feeling of being called. It happened to her so many times before, but this time it was incredibly strong. It called her down to the living room where she thought she heard a voice singing like a bell or a bird or an angel. She soon realized that it was coming from by the window. Cautiously she walked over and was delightfully surprised to see that the rose had grown. Not only that, but upon the rose sat a girl.

Pandora gasped in awe as she found that the beautiful singing was coming from the girl. Suddenly the girl stopped and turned around. She had pale skin and lovely, blonde hair that reflected in the moonlight as did her wide, blue-grey-almost-silver eyes that looked both dazed and surprised. She donned a light lavender dress.

"Oh hello," the small girl said in a soft, lyrical, Irish voice.

"Did I wake you up?"

The small girl tilted her head in curiosity. Pandora was speechless.

"You...how...the flower..." she stammered.

The girl looked at the rose she sat upon; it was blue with silver edges, a rarity indeed.

"I don't quite know how I got here. I just suddenly saw moonlight and now, here I am. Are you my mum?"

"I-I suppose so," Pandora said.

"But...you're so tiny. No bigger than my thumb."

The girl shrugged.

"Well, from what I know of, you said you wanted a sweet, little child. But I suppose that can be taken in multiple ways."

"And...the moonlight..."

The girl turned to look at the shower of light from the full moon.

"It's fairly impressive, isn't it?" she said, not seeming the slightest bit phased by her situation.

"I quite like the moon. Very tranquil and curious, yet powerful enough to turn tides."

 _Oh my. She's very perceptive,_ Pandora thought.

 _And quite lovely as well._

"Well, I suppose it's getting rather late," the girl yawned.

"Perhaps some sleep would do us both some good."

"But what shall I call you?" Pandora asked.

The small girl tilted her head in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, everyone has a name they're called by. But I don't know what to call you. Do you have any ideas?"

The small girl thought and thought for a few moments.

"What about something to do with the moon?" she asked glancing towards the shining orb in the sky.

"I find the name Luna quite lovely, but it's up to you."

"Well," Pandora said.

"I suppose so. Oh! I know. I'll call you Thumbeluna, since you're no bigger than my thumb, but you'll be called Luna for short."

"Fair enough," the newly-christened Luna yawned.

"But now I really must get some rest and so must you, mother. I can't wait to meet my dad."

As she nestled into her flower bed, Pandora stood there, still in awe of the girl in front of her. She never knew how or why exactly Luna was so tiny, but it didn't matter. She now had what she most desired.

She settled back into bed, anxious for Xenophilius to meet their new-quite literally little-girl.


	2. Chapter 2

Now of course Xenophilius had been beyond delighted upon seeing his beautiful, little girl. He didn't mind how tiny Luna was. In his eyes, she was all the more charming for being so tiny.

Mrs. Weasley was quite stunned when she saw Luna.

"I don't think they make knitting needles in that size," she said to Pandora.  
"I'll have to sew her Christmas sweaters instead of knitting them."

There was something else that came with Luna; her idealism. She saw the beauty in everything and everyone, even when they themselves could not. And she had such an unbelievable amount of kindness. While she made many, many mistakes, her intentions were always kind-hearted, well-meant, and pure. To Pandora and Xenophilius, Luna was beyond everything they had wished for and they were constantly thankful for her existence.

But there was one thing they never let their little Luna do and that was go out alone. They were frightened that she would get stepped upon by some ignorant passerby. Despite this Luna longed to explore the world. She longed to see the places her father and mother had read about in her bedtime stories. Little did she know what adventures she was about to have.

* * *

Not too long after she came to live with them, Pandora decided that she needed an actual bed to sleep in, so she set up a bed in a walnut shell for her. Luna was a bit uncertain, but took to it once she felt how comfortable and warm it was. She then decided that the rose, which surprisingly had stayed blooming throughout the past four months, would be a place for her to watch the sun and the moon when she felt like it.

That night, Pandora had forgotten to close the window and a large, green toad hopped inside. Now it was known throughout the house that Luna had a habit of humming in her sleep and tonight was no exception. The toad hopped over to the walnut shell and peeked inside to find the lovely Luna contently sleeping and humming.

"Oh my, what a lovely voice," the toad gushed.  
"She's so small and pure and beautiful. She'll be perfect for my son."

With that, the toad grabbed the walnut and carefully closed it shut before hopping back out the window. It took a lot of effort to keep herself quiet so as not to disturb the pure and innocent Luna, but eventually she made it back to her swamp where she carefully opened up the walnut and hopped over to where her son was sleeping.

"Neville!" she rasped.  
"Wake up, you lazy toad!"

"Uh, five more minutes, please?" Neville, the Yorkshire toad, asked as he rolled over in his bed of moss.

"No, you lump! Now. I've found you your new wife. She's so small and lovely. Come and see."

Sluggishly Neville climbed out from his mossy bed and hopped over to the walnut shell where he saw that his mother was right. The girl was so tiny, but absolutely beautiful. Neville fell head over heels in love with her instantly.

"Oh my goodness!" he gasped upon seeing her, his heart thumping in his chest.  
"She's absolutely beautiful!"

"I knew you would love her. Now help me put her out on a lily pad so that she can stay out of danger."

* * *

The next morning, Luna awoke to the sound of chirping birds and sprinkling sunlight. She opened her eyes and wasn't quite sure where she was at first.

"Either I'm dreaming," she said in her beautiful Irish accent.  
"Or this is..."

Suddenly she gasped upon the realization that she was indeed

"Outside!"

Her eyes grew wide with the purest childlike wonder as she took in every bit of it. After a few minutes, the two toads walked over to her lily pad, which was not too far from the swamp. At this, Luna got out of bed, showing her white nightgown and matching tie-on slippers.

"Hello," Luna smiled when she saw them, giving them a curtsy.  
"My name is Thumbeluna, but you may call me Luna."

"Oh!" the mother toad gushed.  
"You're even more beautiful when you're awake. You are absolutely perfect."

Luna blushed upon hearing this and tried to hide her face, which only made Neville fall more in love with her.

"Anyway, this is my son Neville," she said gesturing to him.  
"Say something to her, you lump!"

Neville was tongue-tied. Never had he seen such a peculiarly-beautiful girl before.

"H-h-hi, Luna," he managed to get out.

Luna smiled at this.

"Hello, Neville," she said.  
"I'm sure we'll be very good friends."

"Oh, you'll be far more than that!" the mother toad exclaimed.  
"You are going to be his wife."

Luna's face went from pleasantly content to slightly confused.

"I...don't quite...understand," she said slowly.  
"I'm to be...married to him?"

"Yes, tonight at sunset. It will be lovely."

"But...couldn't we wait until I've gotten to know him better?"

"Nope. Neville is incredibly lonely and I want him to have a bride of his own. So now you're his bride."

The blood from Luna's face quickly drained away as she realized what was happened.

"Well, it's been nice talking to you," she said with fear shaking in her voice as she started to back away from the lily pad.  
"But I'm sure my mum and dad are incredibly worried about-me!"

She caught her balance as she nearly plummeted head-first off of her lily pad.

"Oh my! I-I don't believe I can swim," she exclaimed fearfully.  
"I was never taught how."

The mother toad laughed triumphantly upon hearing this.

"I thought not. You are a very pretty, but also quite silly, girl."

"But when can I go back home?"

"I doubt ever. Actually forget your mother and father. You won't be seeing them ever again. Now I'm sure you and Neville would like some alone time. I'll leave you two lovetoads be."

And she went off, humming _The Bridal Chorus_ as she went. As soon as she was out of earshot, Luna fell to her knees, covered her face, and wept in agony. It broke Neville's heart to see her like this. He wanted nothing more than to make her happy. Even if it had only been a short time since they met, her smile gave him hope. He hopped over to her lily pad and hesitantly hugged her.

"P-p-please don't cry, L-luna," he stammered, still taken by her beauty.  
"I-I'm not t-t-that bad-looking, a-a-am I?"

Luna sniffled as she shook her head.

"Oh no," she said as she looked up at Neville through her tears.  
"I think everyone is beautiful in their own ways."

This only made Neville fall even more deeply in love with her. Idealism was beauty in his eyes and, to him, Luna was idealism-personified.

"I just miss my mum and dad so much. I've never been this far away from them, however far this is."

"I-I-I want t-t-to help you, b-b-but I l-l-l-,"

He simply could not get the word out. He felt embarrassed stammering like this, especially in front of an angel like Luna.

"L-l-l-l-"

"Love me?" Luna asked.

He nodded sheepishly and Luna smiled kindly.

"There's absolutely nothing wrong with the way you're speaking. Love makes people say and do quite strange things. Either that or it's the wrackspurts. They're invisible creatures that float in your ears and make your brain go fuzzy."

How Neville wished she wasn't so sweet and charming! Sure, she also seemed odd, but he was so far under her spell that he didn't mind it. It was at that moment that he decided that there was only one way he could make her happy.

"T-t-the lily pad is r-r-rooted to the bottom," he confessed.  
"M-maybe I c-can unroot it f-f-for you."

"You would?" Luna gasped.

He nodded.

"But what about the wedding?"

"I-I-I know you won't b-be happy h-here," he said as tears formed in his eyes.  
"A-and as much as I l-l-l-love you, I w-w-want you to be h-h-happy m-much m-m-more."

Luna could see the tears in his eyes and it made her heartache. He was doing such a brave and kind thing for her that she felt compelled to do something for him. At this, she decided to sing him a song. At the first note, he was caught under her spell even more. Her voice was so clear and lyrical and healing. Everything seemed to stand still as she sang. The birds stopped flying and tweeting. The bugs stopped buzzing. The wind stopped whistling and the water stopped splashing, all to listen to this little girl heal the heart of a poor, but brave and kind, toad.

"Do you feel better?" she asked gently once the song was finished.

He nodded as he sniffled.

"A l-l-little b-b-bit," he said.

"It will be alright," Luna said.  
"I'm just not quite ready for marriage. We could still be friends, if that's alright with you."

Neville looked at Luna's silver eyes and found only kindness and sincerity. He nodded.

"I t-t-think I would like that. I d-d-dunno if mum would, b-b-but who c-c-cares what she thinks?"

Luna giggled at this.

"Goodbye, Neville," she told him as she stood up.  
"Thank you. I promise I won't forget you."

And with that, she leaned forward and gave him a gentle kiss on his forehead. Neville did not expect this and began to blush. This made Luna giggle again. His reactions were so endearing in her eyes.

"G-g-goodbye, Luna," he replied.  
"I do hope w-w-we see each other ag-g-gain."

"I have a feeling we will."

With this Neville plunged under the water and, with some effort, snapped off the root the connected to the lily pad. He came back up to the surface and pushed it downstream before letting it go off on its own.

"Thank you!" Luna called to him as she waved goodbye.

Sheepishly Neville waved goodbye back to her. Luna then turned to face forward as the lily pad floated downstream to her next adventure.


	3. Chapter 3

Thumbeluna let the river carry her on for a long while. She did not know where she was going, but she knew she was going to have to improvise in order to get back home.

The sounds of the river began to relax her, and it was at this moment that she felt the urge to doze off. She curled up in a tiny ball and closed her eyes. Sometime passed, and she was just about to doze off, when she felt something snatch her up. Gasping, she opened her eyes to find that she was flying high above the ground.

"Oh dear!" she exclaimed, looking around.  
"I should be able to see everything from up here, I should think."

"Just about," a voice said.

Luna gave a gasp and nearly jumped from the hands-er legs-that were holding her. Fortunately they were right above a tree branch. The creature placed her upon it and Luna held out her arms to gain her balance, nearly toppling over the side.

"Oh my!" she gasped just before the creature grabbed her and pulled her back up again.  
"What is this?"

"What's the matter?" the creature asked her.  
"Haven't you ever seen a tree before?"

It was at this moment that Luna managed to get a better inspection of who, or what, this creature actually was. Dressed finely in a tuxedo and top hat and carrying a cane, a bag over his shoulder, was a large beetle. The beetle had a tuft of albino hair and wore a dark-green bowtie.

"Well, not really. I haven't been out here before," she replied as she gave a polite curtsey.  
"I'm Thumbeluna, by the way, but everyone calls me Luna."

"Name's Beetle," the beetle replied.  
"Draco M. Beetle."

He encircled Luna inspecting her, piquing her curiosity. What could he be possibly looking her over for?

"Quite nice. Quite nice, indeed, but I should have something in my bag to make you look better."

He then began to search in his bag, throwing things over his shoulders, unaware where his aim was and almost hitting Luna.

"I don't think I understand," Luna exclaimed, tilting her head and she attempted to dodge the flying objects.  
"What do you mean 'make me look better'? Why did you take me from my lily pad?"

"It's a slightly long story, but I'll give you the short of it. You see, I have been looking to take a wife for sometime."

Luna gasped at this.

"You don't mean-?" she asked slightly frightened.

"What?" Draco asked, pausing, before he realized what she meant.  
"You? Oh no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, NO! Certainly not! Certainly NOT!"

Luna breathed a sigh of relief as he went back to looking through his bag.

"No, not you. But one of the other lady beetles. I've been trying to impress them for ages. But in order for me to catch their attention, I must make an offering of something absolutely beautiful. Well, I had just about given up today, but when I was flying over the river, you caught my attention."

Hearing this, Luna glanced down at the tree branch and blushed slightly. She found that, after the incident with the toads, the word beautiful had perhaps a _slightly_ different connotation to her. Nonetheless it was still nice to be called that.

"Aha!" the beetle exclaimed suddenly.  
"Here we go!"

Curiously, Luna looked up and peeked over the beetle as much as she could. In his...hands, er claws, er legs?...was a ribbon that, surprisingly, matched the color of her dress perfectly.

"I don't quite understand, though," she said.  
"If they were to take me as the offering, what would become of me then?"

The beetle stroked his chin and pursed his mouth in thought.

"You know, I don't quite know," he exclaimed.  
"I've never been successful at this before."

Turning around he held out the ribbon.

"May I?"

"Oh, of course," Luna answered as she turned around.

She felt the beetle take ahold of her hair and gently tie the ribbon tight in her dirty blonde locks.

"And...there!" he exclaimed barely a minute after.  
"Finished. Good thing I've had some practice with bow tying. Now come along, the lady beetles should be congregating just nearby."

* * *

Mr. Beetle was correct; not far across the way was a group of four lady beetles chatting up a storm. Before they approached them, however, Mr. Beetle leaned close to Luna.

"Now, listen very closely," he whispered low.  
"Do not speak unless you are spoken to. If they do speak to you, do not shout at them. Be as darling, gentle, and sweet as possible. All you have to do is stand there, smile gently, and be pretty. But I doubt that will be very difficult for you. Oh, and use those doe eyes of yours."

Luna nod slightly as Mr. Beetle straightened up his bowtie and approached the giggling group of lady beetles.

"Hello, my dears," he greeted them suavely.

The group turned and looked at him in disgust.

"Draco, what are you doing here? Are you **still** trying to get one of us to marry you?" one of them scoffed. She was decked out in dark green, the same color as his bowtie.

"Indeed," he replied candidly.  
"And after you see **this** offering, I'm quite sure you'll say yes."

"Are you really?" asked another wearing blue.  
"I'm intrigued."

"If he's so confident, perhaps we should give him a chance," another lady beetle, this one dressed in yellow, said gently.

"Fine," one in red agreed.  
"Alright, Draco. What have you got?"

"Well," Draco said excitedly.  
"I put a lot of thought and searched far and wide for this one. And here she is."

He gestured towards Luna who gently approached the group. A soft smile on her face, she curtsied as she approached them.

"Oh," the beetle in yellow gushed as she covered her heart.  
"How darling!"

"Yes, very lovely," the one in red agreed with a tender smile.  
"She looks like such a very sweet girl."

"I have to say," the one in blue replied as she circled Luna, observing her.  
"She is a vast improvement from the previous offerings you've made."

"Well," the green beetle scoffed.  
"She's not **terribly** ugly, I'll give you that. A bit odd-seeming, though."

"Oh, come on, Pansy," the beetle in yellow exclaimed.  
"You simply can't deny it; she's absolutely precious!"

"Tell us," the one in blue said to Luna.  
"What is your name?"

"My name is Thumbeluna," she replied sweetly.  
"But most people call me Luna."

"Oh!" the beetle in yellow gasped.  
"She sounds just like a faerie princess! I **MUST** have her!"

"Not so fast, Susan," the beetle in red replied.  
"I believe he offered her to me, and with me, she shall go."

"Not on your life, Ginerva," the one in blue spat.  
"She's coming with me!"

"Don't be ridiculous, Cho," Pansy hissed.  
"I'll take her."

"But I thought you didn't want her."

"Are you mad? If the rest of the village were to hear that **I** was given the most beautiful offering of marriage, I would be the envy of the elites! She's mine."

The lady beetles soon began to violently banter back and forth with one another. The commotion made Luna feel extremely uncomfortable, and she began to back away, when she felt something grab her arm from behind. Gasping, she looked up to see Mr. Beetle glaring at her.

"And just **where** do you think you're going?" he spat as he whirled her around to face her.

"I think I'd like to go home now please," Luna said with a small tremble of fear in her voice.

"I think not. I searched high and low for weeks to find an offering so beautiful, so darling, so sweet, and I'm not about to let this opportunity slip from my grasp!"

"Please let go of me!"

"Nonsense. You're mine to do with as I please."

Luna tried to pull away, but Mr. Beetle had a rather strong grip. After many fruitless attempts, Luna sighed and brought her foot down on his.

"Ah!" he yelped as he grasped his foot.

"I'm so sorry," Luna whispered as she ran to the end of the branch.

However, once she got there, she looked down and realized just how far up she was. Her legs began to tremble and she heard a loud ruckus behind her. Turning around, she saw Mr. Beetle and the four lady beetles running towards her.

"Don't let her get away!" one of the lady beetles yelled.  
"I **MUST** have her."

Luna's heart began to race as she prayed to any deity she could think of when-

"INCOMING!"

Luna whirled around to see a large, flying silhouette rocketing towards her. Before she even knew what was going on, she felt herself being picked up and swept off of the tree branch, much to the dismay of the beetles.


	4. Chapter 4

Now before we continue on with our main story, let us check in with the others, shall we?

Pandora and Xenophilius had awoken the next morning and found themselves heartbroken when they saw that both their daughter and her bed were missing. Had she been eaten? Kidnapped? Or worse? They sent out notices asking people to help them find her. All they could do after was wait in agony.

* * *

Now not long after Luna had left Mother Toad and her son Neville did the mother return with a bridal dress made for Luna out of white flower petals. However once she did, she could not believe the sight before her.

"Where did she go?" she asked her son in a panic.

"I let her go," he confessed.

"You WHAT?" she nearly screamed, her panic turning quickly to anger.

"She was unhappy here."

"Do you KNOW how long I had to search to find ANYONE as small and as beautiful as she is? Besides she would've learned to love it here."

All of a sudden, she saw a lily pad floating on by. Taking a hold of her son, she launched them both onto it.

"W-where are we going?" Neville asked timidly.

"To find her!"

"But mother-!"

"I don't care! I worked so hard and tirelessly to find you a bride; I'm not going to let such a perfect girl escape that easily!"

* * *

Shortly after Luna had been picked up by the bird, the four lady beetles turned to Mr. Beetle in fury.

"How could you have just let her go?" Pansy asked infuriated.

"She's nearly perfect!" said Cho.

"I **MUST** have her," Susan cried out.  
"She's too precious. I must protect her from this cruel world!"

"Now, now, I'm sure we can find her," Mr. Beetle laughed self-consciously.  
"And once we do, we shall be able to come to an agreement and perhaps...an engagement."

The four lady beetles looked at each other and nodded.

"Deal," they said simultaneously.

And they flew off to find her.


	5. Chapter 5

Luna knew not of either the Mother Toad's or the beetle group's plans to find her. All she knew was that this magnificent flying creature had taken her out of danger's way.

They flew for some time before the creature set her upon the ground. For the first time, Luna got a proper look at the beast that stole her away. A large bird, most likely a sparrow, stood above her. He had large, green eyes as if magnified by glasses. On his head there was a scar in the shape of a lightning bolt and above that he had a tuft of jet-black hair.

"You okay?" he asked out of concern.

"I am now," Luna replied nodding until she felt a sudden bout of anxiety.  
"You're not going to try to marry me or use me as a marriage gift, are you?"

"Of course not," the bird exclaimed giving her a look of shock.  
"Why do you ask? Was it something to do with those beetles I found you with?"

She nodded.

"Mr. Beetle wanted to give me away as an offer of marriage to one of the lady beetles. But then they started fighting and it made me feel anxious, so I tried to get away."

"How did he find you?"

"I was floating downstream on a lily pad and he snatched me up."

"What were you doing on a lily pad?"

"A toad snatched me from my home and put me there. She wanted me to marry her son, but he helped me escape. My name's Thumbeluna, by the way, but most call me Luna."

"Name's Harry," the bird replied.  
"I was migrating South for the winter when I happened to spy you in trouble. So I swooped down and picked you up and...here we are."

All of a sudden, the wind began to pick up and Luna trembled.

"And speaking of winter, I'd better get going."

"Wait!" Luna exclaimed.  
"Will I see you again?"

"Most likely. I come back here when it's spring time."

Suddenly an idea crossed his mind.

"You know, I know of an amazing place with people just your size. There are lots of flowers and friendly animals and music and so much more. I have a feeling you might like it. Perhaps I can return in the spring, find you again, and I can take you there."

Hearing this, Luna's eyes sparkled.

"Oh yes," she replied.  
"It sounds lovely! I would love to go, even if I do have to wait. When is spring?"

"You don't know?"

"I'm not really sure if I have a grasp on the concept of time."

"Fair enough. I would say probably only 3 or 4 months from now is when I'll be back. Not too long of a wait, I hope."

"It might be, but I'll do my best to wait."

"Then, Miss Luna, I shall see you in spring."

And Harry took off.


	6. Chapter 6

Luna spent over a week trying to find somewhere to stay. She kept going from place to place, meeting various creatures, having to do odd favors to earn some food.

But one night, she became incredibly exhausted as she walked through tall grasses and soon small snowbanks. She tried to use the ribbon Mr. Beetle gave her in hopes of keeping even just slightly warm, but it was no use, and soon Luna found herself losing consciousness and then the world fell silent.

* * *

The crackling of a fire and the smell of a stew seeped into Luna's senses as she came to. Her vision was slightly hazy and blurry at first as she sat up slowly only to find herself wrapped in a warm blanket.

"Wha...? Where am I?" she gasped.

"Oh good!" sighed a voice nearby.  
"I knew you'd come to."

Luna rubbed her eyes and found herself inside of a warm dwelling. She turned in the direction of the voice to see a field mouse with brown fur and wearing a red apron stirring a pot of what smelled like stew.

"And in good timing too!" the field mouse exclaimed.  
"The stew I'm cooking up is just about finished."

The field mouse grabbed a tiny ladle and bowl and scooped out two spoonfuls of the stew into the bowl before carrying the bowl and a small spoon over to Luna and handing it to her.

"I was worried you might have been dead. Go on and eat it while it's still hot."

"Wha...what happened to me?" Luna asked as she picked up the spoon and blew on the stew slightly.

"I was passing by looking to find some last-minute food for the winter when I found you shivering grasping a ribbon. You looked near freezing, so I picked you up and brought you to my dwelling."

"It's quite nice and warm in here. My name's Thumbeluna, but most people call me Luna."

"I'm Hermione G. Fieldmouse."

"You're not going to kick me out of here, are you?"

Hermione looked at her in shock.

"In this weather? Of course not! You'll need to stay here until the winter passes."

"I can help clean," Luna offered.  
"I also sing a little, if that's any consolation."

This piqued Miss Fieldmouse's attention.

"Well, you don't have to, though I suppose I could use an extra hand around here. If you're offering, and once you're past the cold, you can help keep tidy and perhaps sing a bit here and there."

"Oh yes!" Luna exclaimed excitedly, her eyes sparkling.  
"That'd be lovely."

And so for the next few weeks, Luna would help Miss Fieldmouse with anything she might need help with, whether it was dusting, washing, organizing, sweeping, whatever was needed to be tidied. Her singing also managed to liven up the den. Miss Fieldmouse seemed much happier after Luna sang, as did Luna.

How ideal it would be for her for things to always be this lovely.

* * *

One day, Luna was sweeping the den when Miss Fieldmouse came running in.

"Oh Luna, I have a surprise for you," she announced.  
"We have a guest coming over."

"A guest? Who?" Luna asked, tilting her head.

"Mr. Marvemole. He's very rich, has a lovely black velvet coat, and...he's single!"

"Oh dear," Luna gasped quietly.

She had forgotten the incidences with the beetles and toads up until this point, and simply hearing this made her stomach churn.

"Why, he's dug a tunnel all the way across the field from his place. Oh, and he has a bit of trouble with sight, so be sure you stand close to him. I want him to know how beautiful you are. Oh! And I have a dress for you to try on."

She handed Luna a flowing white dress with a small, white lily for her hair and matching slippers.

"Now I'm going to go retrieve him. You get yourself prettied up for him. I should be back in about ten minutes."

And with that, she scurried out of the den.

As Luna put on the dress, her stomach began to turn even more. If this Mr. Marvemole was indeed single and was indeed, as Luna felt, looking to take a bride, the possibility of Miss Fieldmouse marrying her off to him couldn't be far behind.

All Luna could do was hope for the opposite.


	7. Chapter 7

(CW: Drugs. Nothing extreme, just sedatives/sleep drugs)

* * *

Luna kicked her feet as she sat down on the couch waiting for Miss Fieldmouse. It had been about ten minutes since she'd left and there was no sign of her until-

"So you say she's quite lovely?" Luna heard a voice faintly ask, which made her stand at attention.

"Oh, more than just," Hermione's voice dotted as they get closer.  
"She's absolutely the most beautiful and the sweetest little thing. And she has the loveliest voice, both speaking and singing."

"Indeed? Well, I should like to see for myself."

Suddenly Miss Fieldmouse reappeared; alongside her was a fancily-dress mole, on who was rather lean for a mole, with a tuft of brown hair and emerald-green eyes, which fell onto Luna the instant he walked in.

"Oh, Luna" Miss Fieldmouse gushed.  
"You looked absolutely angelic!"

"My, my, my," he purred as he got closer to Luna.  
"What a lovely girl indeed."

"Luna, this is Tom Marvemole. Tom, this is Luna."

Immediately, he took ahold of her hand and planted a small kiss upon it.

"Enchante, mademoiselle," he whispered.

Luna shivered as he pulled away.

"H-how do you do?" she asked him politely.

"Oh my," he exclaimed.  
"You do have quite a sweet voice, just as Miss Fieldmouse said."

"Well, this looks nice and cozy," Hermione announced.  
"Let's all sit down for a bit."

Tom sat upon the couch while Luna went for the chair.

"Ah, ah, ah," Hermione exclaimed.  
"You sit with Mr. Marvemole, dear."

She positioned Luna so that she and the mole were nearly touching one another. For a few moments, no one said a word and Luna began to feel uncomfortable.

"Well," Mr. Marvemole said suddenly.  
"Miss Fieldmouse was correct. You are quite lovely and sweet. You speak with a pretty voice, but I have yet to hear you sing."

Luna went nearly pale. After all she had come to the conclusion that it was her voice that attracted the attention of Mother Toad in the first place. Had she not been sleep-humming, Luna would probably still be at home.

"Well," Miss Fieldmouse urged her.  
"Go on, Luna. How about just a nice melody? He doesn't like to hear about aboveground, isn't that right, Mr. Marvemole?"

"Indeed," he replied.

Reluctantly Luna mustered up as much strength as she could and let out a quiet little melody; it was one her mother used to sing to her when she had trouble sleeping. Luna had to set aside a part of her mind to consciously stop herself from crying. How she missed her mother so!

When she was finished, another few moments of silence passed by before anyone spoke up.

"Well," Mr. Marvemole announced.  
"It appears that she lives up to what you've said to me about her, Miss Fieldmouse. Never have I heard a singing voice so lovely and innocent."

"And?" Miss Fieldmouse urged him.

And? What more could he have to say?

"Indeed she is bride-material, that is all I shall say for now."

Miss Fieldmouse clasped her paws together.

"Wonderful!" she exclaimed.  
"Well, I suppose you must be getting back."

"Yes, of course," he grumbled.  
"I shall see you later, I assume?"

Miss Fieldmouse glanced at him.

"Oh. Yes," she replied in a tone Luna felt was slightly sinister.  
"You will most definitely see me later, Mr. Marvemole."

At this, he stood up and left for his home.

"What was that exchange about?" Luna asked concerned when he had left.

"Oh, it was nothing, my dear," she replied quickly.  
"Nothing you should be concerned over."

"Oh," Luna exclaimed.  
"Well, should I prepare dinner?"

"No need. I'll take care of it tonight."

Miss Fieldmouse went over to the kitchen and reheated some stew from last night. She poured one into a red bowl for herself and a purple bowl for Luna; and when Luna wasn't looking, she reached for a bottle of what she called Drowsy Drops, dumped the entire bottle into the purple bowl, and mixed it in before handing it to Luna.

"Here you go, my dear. Eat up."

Luna cautiously took a few spoonfuls. Following the exchange between them, she wasn't too sure if Miss Fieldmouse could totally be trusted. But the spoonfuls she took seemed relatively safe. After believing that nothing seemed wrong, she proceeded to eat most of the stew until she began to feel her eyelids drop.

"What's the matter, dear?" Hermione asked innocently.

"Oh," Luna yawned.  
"I suddenly feel...quite tired. But I haven't finished my chores yet."

"It's alright. I can finish them for you, my dear. You go ahead and rest."

Luna's eyelids began to flutter as she laid on the couch. Miss Fieldmouse placed a soft blanket over her.

"After all, you have a big day tomorrow."

"W...wha...?" Luna began to ask before it really kicked in.

"Shh," Miss Fieldmouse shushed her as she softly stroked her hair.

Noises began to echo in her mind.

"Night, night," Miss Fieldmouse whispered as Luna lost consciousness.


	8. Chapter 8

_"Wake up, my dear."_

A voice whispered as Thumbeluna awoke from her slumber. She rubbed her eyes only to find a horrific sight; she was no longer in Miss Fieldmouse's house anymore. Instead she found herself in a guided cage, rounded at the top and colored in gold.

"What? What's happened to me? Where am I?"

"At the home of your new husband," a voice said sinisterly.

Startled, Luna peeked in the direction of the voice, and out from the shadows came Miss Fieldmouse and Mr. Marvemole. Mr. Marvemole approached her and stuck his paw out to caress her face.

"Welcome home, my bride," he purred.

Luna gasped and pulled back.

"Bride?" she exclaimed.

"Yes, you see I have longed for the perfect girl to come along so that she could be my bride. When Miss Fieldmouse told me about you, we hatched a plan; if I decided you were bride-material, which I said you were, we would trade in the night; you and a bag of coins."

"And not only will you be his bride," Miss Fieldmouse announced.  
"But also his main source of income."

"Source of income? But you told me that he was rich."

"Yes, as rich as anyone can be," he replied.  
"But there are some things that even I cannot afford. For instance, fame, fortune, youth, beauty, a lovely bride. Well, at least I couldn't afford the last one until today. And now I shall gather all those things and more, including fame and fortune, amongst not just the meadow, but the entire world. Once someone hears you sing, they shall tell their friends and then they shall tell their friends. Soon enough the whole world will come to hear you sing, Luna. And you shall be my star. My pretty little songbird."

"Can you imagine?" Miss Fieldmouse gushed.  
"All of those adoring crowds, the applause, those transfixed by your beauty. Why, any girl would jump at the chance to be a star!"

Perhaps some girls would, but even hearing all of it made Luna's stomach churn. She didn't like large crowds or a lot of noise. The mere thought of it drained her tremendously.

"Now you stay right here," Mr. Marvemole told her.  
"Miss Fieldmouse and I must finish preparing for tonight's wedding."

All of a sudden, there was a knock on the door.

"Oh, blast it all!" Mr. Marvemole grumbled.  
"Who could that be at this hour?"

He and Miss Fieldmouse headed to the door. It opened and Luna's heart dropped as she heard not one, but two familiar voices.

"I know you have her!" screeched the voices of Mother Toad and Mr. Beetle.


	9. Chapter 9

Now you must be wondering _How on earth did it come to that Mother Toad and Mr. Beetle had found Thumbeluna, let alone together?_

Well, during the month of March near the end of winter when all of the birds came back, the beetles flew close to the water, so as to give the birds a path to return on, where, coincidentally, Mother Toad and her son Neville were floating on a lily pad. However they had flown too close, and with a crash, they all fell in.

It was a rather shallow section of the river, however, so the toads and beetles did not drown, but instead proceeded to argue with one another.

"Watch where you're going, you deranged cockroach!" Mother Toad spat as Mr. Beetle and his potential brides pulled themselves up onto the shore.

"Watch where **I'm** going?" Mr. Beetle spat.  
"Well, I'm _sor-ry_ that I couldn't see past your big head!"

"Come on, Draco!" Susan whined.  
"We won't find Luna anywhere if we bicker with every single creature we pass by."

All of a sudden, Mother Toad perked up.

"Did you say Luna?"

"Yes, I did."

" **We're** looking for a girl named Luna."

"Light lavender dress? Blonde hair? Doe-like eyes?"

"Yes. Yes. And yes. She was supposed to marry my son, Neville."

"Marry your son?" Pansy scoffed.  
"Draco gave her to **me** as a marriage offering."

"You mean he gave her to **us** ," Ginerva corrected her.  
"He never said which of the four of us he would pick to marry."

"Well, we can argue about who's going to use her for what," Cho piped up.  
"Right now, what's important is to find her. And I think we'll be able to accomplish **that** much more quickly if we pull together an alliance with these frogs-"

"-Toads!" Mother Toad snapped.

"Right. Anyway the more of us we have on our side, the better chance we have to even **find** Luna. Once we find her, then we can fight over who gets her. Do we have a deal?"

"Deal!" Mother Toad exclaimed enthusiastically.

"Mum," Neville squeaked.  
"I-I really d-don't think Luna would want us t-to-"

"Shut your mouth, you ungrateful boy!" Mother Toad snapped.  
"You wanted a bride, and you're going to get one!"

"Not if **I** -" Pansy began.

"-We-" interrupted Ginerva.

"-get her as a marriage offering."

"We're wasting our time!" Susan blurted out.  
"We need to find her, and quick!"

"But how?" Cho asked.

"My son can help," Mother Toad exclaimed.  
"He was born with a genius sense of smell. Go on, son. Lead us to Luna."

"B-but mum-"

"NOW!"

Neville sighed reluctantly and began to sniff the air before pointing.

"Sh-sh-she went North, I believe," he said despondently.

And so the group of creatures raced off to find Luna, not knowing that they were not the only ones looking for her. For you see, whilst this conversation had been happening, Harry the Sparrow had returned from the South and had happened to fly low enough to hear their conversation.

"Those must've been the toads Luna was telling me about!" he gasped.  
"I have to find her and warn her. And quick!"

And so he followed the creatures to the den of Miss Fieldmouse and THEN to Mr. Marvemole's dwelling. And THAT is where our story picks up from.


	10. Chapter 10

"I know you have her!" screeched the voices of Mother Toad and Mr. Beetle.

Now, in spite of their knowledge of Luna, they had no idea who these creatures were, and therefore, they were quite puzzled when this accusation had been made.

"Excuse me, sir and madame, but I do believe we are not acquainted with one another; therefore we haven't the faintest idea of whom you are referring to."

"We know you have Thumbeluna!" Mother Toad exclaimed.  
"And she was **mine** first!"

"Well, you lost her!" Mr. Beetle spat.  
" **I** had her second."

"Well, it seems that you **both** lost her," Mr. Marvemole snapped.  
"So therefore, she is now mine."

"What could you possibly need her for?" Mother Toad spat.  
"You look like a rich mole. You could get any woman you wish."

"There are many things that money cannot buy. At least, not directly," he said winking as Miss Fieldmouse who winked back.

"Well, at least **my** cause is noble," Mother Toad huffed.  
" **I** need to have her as a bride for my son. He's refused to find other frogs, says he's afraid to be laughed at and rejected."

"Well, **I** promised her as an offering to one of these four lovely lady beetles," Draco sniffed.  
"After many previous failures, they fell head over heels in love with her, and I will **not** let the chance slip past me."

"Well, **I'm** using her not **just** as my bride, but as my source of income," Mr. Marvemole said pridefully.  
" **I'm** providing the world a service by making her sing for **their** enjoyment, at a fair price, of course. Now you see, my friends. You simply **cannot** get more noble than what **I** have planned for her."

As the creatures continued to barter and banter about who was the one who Luna trulybelonged to, they did not notice Neville slipping away from the group. He hopped around to the side of the burrow and dug a hole through to the surface only to be snatched up by Harry.

"I've got you now, you monster!" Harry hissed as he pinned him to the ground.  
"I won't let you kidnap Luna!"

"P-please don't hurt me! I'm not trying t-to kidnap her, I swear," Neville trembled.  
"I h-h-helped her escape my mum."

Harry suddenly recalled Luna telling him that it was indeed the toad's son who had helped her escape. His gaze softening, he let Neville loose.

"W-Who are you? H-how do you know Luna?"

"I'm Harry. I saved Luna from those dreadful beetles."

"What d-did Mr. Beetle mean about a m-marriage offering?"

"It's a custom of the beetle community that, should a beetle of the male gender want to take a bride, he must give to her an offering most beautiful. And that means **anything** beautiful. If she is impressed, she's to say yes."

"W-what happens to marriage offerings if they are l-l-living?"

"It varies depending on the lady's preferences, but more often than not, they're kept in enclosures or cages to be admired. If one of those lady beetles takes Luna, she may very well become essentially nothing more than something to be gawked at."

"We have to save h-her," Neville gasped.  
"Not just f-from those b-beetles and my mum, b-b-but that mole s-s-said he wanted to marry her a-a-and use her as income. H-He's going to ch-ch-charge others t-t-to hear her sing!"

"That dastardly mole!" Harry growled.  
"He and I have some unfinished business to attend to. Alright, I suspect she's being held captive by that blasted mole. Let's dig into his den and get her out!"


End file.
